NiCo Dental Cosmetic Dentistry

Tooth cleaning tooth whitener

The complete cleaning means the polishing by sandblaster after the ultrasonic tartar removal. The complete cleaning also means that both the upper and lower dental arch gets tartar removal and polish even if tartar is visible only on a few teeth. People usually – wrongly – think that tartar only exists when it’s visible, but in fact it can be found under the gum and/or between teeth. The complete cleaning provides additional protection against development of tartar, plus the sandblaster polishes the rough surface of the root, thus preventing bacteria to get grip on it.

Tartar removal (scaling, polish)

The oral hygiene intervention during which tartar/calculus is removed by mechanical tools is called depuration or scaling. Before explaining its process let’s see what calculus is and why is its removal important. Certain plaque deposits can be found even in healthy mouth (especially on the outer side of upper molars or the inner surface of incisor teeth). This plaque (that contains food debris, saliva and bacterias) will get calcificated if it isn’t removed for a while because of the scale salts that are in the food debris and the saliva. So the calculus is the calcificated plaque that can be found on the surface of the natural teeth or dentures and wasn’t removed for a long time. Calculus can develop above the gum (yellowish white) and below the gum (brownish black). The latter ones seem bluish black through the narrower gum edges. The calculus contains both organic and inorganic materials but also dead epithelial cells, bacterias and fungi. The pigment that gives the colour of the calculus consists of product of bacteria metabolism, blood colourings or external colourings (nicotine, coffeine, etc.). The teeth threatening plaque can be easily removed by regular and proper brushing techniques, but depuration is a dental hygienist’s task. The calculus can cause not only tooth decay but gingivitis and decreasing bones that will result in loose teeth that will fall out – this why calculus removal is very important. Formation of calculus can be slowed down, but it depends if the patient is naturally prone to it. Development of calculus is more likely for those with more dense saliva or chew less. The calculus removal process is done tooth by tooth. The ultrasonic device works with heads of different size and shape to clean the visible area of teeth of different size and shape. The frequency and intensity of water cooling can be regulated. The micro-movements, produced by the ultrasound desctruct the calculus, and the pieces are washed out by the water that also cools the head down. If someone has calculus below the gum too, the visible pieces are removed by the ultrasonic device first and the ones below the gum are removed by closed curettage. We work only by effective hand tools to remove calculus from below the gum of the patients with pacemaker. The ultrasonic head doesn’t caues any damage to the enamel because it simply vibrates because of the ultrasonic sound, but it doesn’t rotate. The calculus needs to be removed from around the implants, but this can be done only with a special plastic head since the metal head can scratch the head of the implant which can be a base of plaque in the future. It is important to know that we polish up the teeth surfaces using several tools as the regeneration of tartar would be easy on rough surfaces. Finally – if needed – we brush the gum. After the treatment many people have „funny feelings”, they feel the gaps between their teeth wider, but this feeling is gone in a few days. After scaling the gum is often bleeding at tooth brushing. This is natural as after removing the calculus the gum remains slightly wounded. Massaging the gum with a soft bristled toothbrush helps to heal and make the gum more resistant (using circular or vertical sweeping motion). If the dentist recommends, mouthwash can be used to soothe the inflammation. For those who are prone to quick development of calculus it’s recommended to use extra dental tools such as dental floss, interdental brush or oral irrigator. Keeping clean the areas between the teeth where the bristles of the toothbrush cannot reach prevents development of calculus. Please ask for your dental hygienist or dentist’s advice to use these tools. The calculus removal is a time consuming job that requires patience and precision. It is very recommended to visit your dentist at least in every six months to have your calculus removed as well as to do further screening.